South Africa’s World Cup squad is a blend of experienced players mixed with stars of the
CRICKET: Jon Swift
THE SELECTION of the tour squad for the World Cup in Pakistan is an intriguing combination; a mixture of those with the experience of abject failure on the Indian sub-continent and those still carrying the aura of youthful expectations associated with facing a new
In a summer’s cricket against the English tourists both poles of an equation of youth and experience — in which the national selectors have achieved an admirable balance on paper in the 14-man squad — have succeeded and it is apposite at this stage to borrow from the 1-0 Test series win and the 6- 1 one-day drubbing of the Poms as pointers towards the World Cup foray.
You cannot argue that the inclusion of Shaun Pollock, Paul Adams and Jacques Kallis will add the sort of youthful exuberance Jonty Rhodes provided with the bat as well as in the field in his early days as an international. Steve Palframan, who takes the place of the unfortunate injured Dave Richardson behind the stumps, is another who represents the future.
There is also a depth of experience in the older hands such as Andrew Hudson, Allan Donald, Brian McMillan, Craig Matthews, Fanie de Villiers and Pat Symcox. With Hansie Cronje at the helm — one forgets that he is still only 26 and younger than Rhodes — the ideal bridge has been built between the two
The seven limited-overs internationals against England provide whatever answers conjecture offers, for this is the type of game Cronje and his side will be playing in the World Cup, a tournament centred on Pakistan but utilising grounds in India and Sri Lanka.
Applying the averages as a starting point — no less a student of cricket than Eddie Barlow is of the firm belief that averages are the only benchmark — a number of interesting facts come to the fore.
This country’s top two batsmen in both the averages and the number of runs scored are Hudson and Cronje and it is worthy of recording the fact that neither topped the England batsmen in the averages. Graham Thorpe was the best of the series with 233 runs for 46,60, followed by Alec Stewart with 131 for
Hudson scored the second-highest number of runs at 202 behind his captain, who got 46 more. The elegant Natal opening bat also ended with South Africa’s top average, a creditable 40,40 against Cronje’s 35,43.
Interestingly, fourth on the list, just behind Daryll Cullinan, stands Pollock, who scored 96 runs for an average of 32,00 across the series against England. Pollock — and Kallis, who lies sixth with 27,67 — represent the young blood coming through.
Against this, though, three factors must be weighed: an on-going inconsistency of effect among the top-order batsmen, the marginally beneficial advantage of home tracks, and the strength of an England attack rightly described by one English authority as piss
Both Cronje and Hudson have shown a propensity this summer to shuffle across the wickets. It was a habit the England bowlers exploited, having both of them trapped to close-in catches or leg before. It is also something that, with the ball not coming onto the bat, one feels will be exploited even further on the journey which lies ahead.
You also cannot talk about the South African batting without including Brian McMillan. It is no wonder the tourists rated the huge Western Province all-rounder so highly. Big Mac finished fifth in the averages with 29,20 from the 146 runs he added to the various South African scoreboards.
Going into any game without him is almost unthinkable. Certainly, this is true of McMillan’s own thinking. Rested by the selectors for the final three games, McMillan rebelled and insisted on playing. One trusts that he will continue to show this type of singular bloody-mindedness.
Gary Kirsten, on tour as the other specialist opener and representing the middle-ground alongside his captain, showed some of the inconsistency which has marked South African batting for so long.
The only century-maker of the series on both sides, the gritty Western Province left-hander added only 44 runs in the other five times he visited the crease.
In sheer guts though, Kirsten best typifies, outside the bowlers, all that is best about South African cricket. He might not always come off with the bat, but you cannot fault him for a burning determination to do so.
It is this brand of never-say-die which has carried our national team through any number of tight corners. It is the same refusal to lie down which propelled De Villiers back into the reckoning after injury had ruled him out of contention for the five Tests and all but the last three of the one-day internationals.
De Villiers topped the South African averages with seven wickets for just 77 runs and an average of 11 in the final trio of outings against the English. He also had the best return among the South Africans with 4/32.
It is also of note that Pollock’s 13 wickets for an average of 16,31 came from seven matches and Donald’s 12 for an average of 20,67, from five, which placed the world-class strike bowler fifth on the list of South
Young Adams finished third-best South African in the averages with 16,50 and Symcox next with an average of 19,75, both of them taking four wickets. Perhaps Symcox will be used more often than Adams in Pakistan. It would be wise if this were so. But the teenager from Grassy Park has the ability to come back from a hammering and bowl extremely well. Thorpe, as best of the England batsmen, would testify to
De Villiers gave away a miserly average of 2,85 runs off the 27 overs he delivered and it is heartening to note that Pollock, Adams, Symcox and McMillan — all of them vital to the success of the World Cup campaign — all came in at less than four runs an over.
It was a feat that only Darren Gough, who topped the England one-day bowling with an average of 18,27 and a runs-per-over ratio of 3,41 managed for the tourists. It does indeed point to the veracity of the somewhat below- the-belt assessment of the England attack.
It must be added that McMillan has the invaluable ability — as does Donald — of coming on and making things happen.
There is also the ability of Cronje and Kallis to back up the front-line bowlers to add to this country’s strengths. Both will surely do a fair amount of bowling on the slower wickets of the Indian sub-continent.
In total though, the selectors have done an admirable job of blending current needs into future requirements. One that can bat, one that can certainly bowl and one which surely has no equal in world cricket right now in the
The World Cup promises much in both the short and long term.